Vending-machine.



R. T. POLK.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY zo, 191s.

Patented July 21, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Witnesses TQQ@ Inventor,

Attorneys.

1HE NoRms PETER: CO.. wAsmNcroN. n. c,

R. T.' FOLK.

VBNDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY zo. 191a.

Patented July 21, 1914,

s SHEETS-SHEET 2. O

Attrneys.

m5 nomas Psfsns ca., wAsmNafan, n. c.

R. T. POLK.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY zo, 1913.

1,104,2'7 1 Patented July 21, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEBT 3.

Witnesses v VJPZInVen'cOr 7'( f by l r f/ v l Attorneys ROBERT T. FOLK,OF SMITHS TURN OUT, SOUTH CAROLINA..

vnNDrivG-MAGHINE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led May 20, 1913. Serial No. 768,892. f

To all whom t'zma'z/ concern Be it known that I, ROBERT T. FOLK, acitizen of the United States, residing at Smiths Turn Out, in the countyof York and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and usefulVending-Machine, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to vending ma.- chines of that type known ascheck controlled, the principal object of the invention being to providea machine of this character designed, when actuated, to dispense ameasured quantity of material, such as peanuts, chestnuts, candies andlike small articles and to also deliver a bag in which the purchaser mayplace the vpurchased material.

A further object is to provide improved means whereby the material to bedispensed will bel thoroughlv agitated and whereby means for measuringand feeding the material can be adjusted so as` to cause any pre'-determined quantity to be dispensed upon the actuation of them'echanism.

Another object is to provide motor operated meansfor actuating themeasuring and dispensing devices, there being a Vlocking structure forholding the motor driven mechanism against movement, said structurebeing adapted to release the mechanism solely upon the insertiony of acheck of a predetermined kind.,

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view which will vappear as thedescription proceeds, the invention residesv in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details kof construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the linvention herein disclosed, can be made withinl thescope of what is claimed, without v( leparting from the spirit of theinvention.

ln the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeenl shown.

vIn said ldrawings'z-Figure.1 is va front elevation of the machine. Fig.2 is a vertical transverse section through the casing of the machine,the mechanism therein being viewed in rear elevation and certain o'f theparts being broken away. Fig. 3 isa seci tion on line A-B Fig. 2. Fig. 4is a section on line C-D Fig. f Fig. 5 is a section on line EF Fie. 2.Fig. 6 is a section on line G-H Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a section on line I-K,Fig. 2. Fig. 8 .is a detail view of the revoluble feedV device, theparts thereof beingfvshown separatedf-Y Fig.- 9 is a side-clefr vationof the lower portion of said feed de- -Patented Jury ai, 1914.

vice. Fig. 10 is a plan view of the lower section of said device. Fig.11 is a perspective view of the hopper supporting shelf.

Fig. 12 is a section through the discharge end of the delivery chute andits cut-off, said section ybeing taken on the line Fig. 1. Fig. 18 is aside elevation of the pawl and ratchet mechanism used for holding themotor against rotation in a backward direction, said section being takenon the line N-O Fig. 2. Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the bagejecting slide and its operating lever. Fig. 15 is a perspective Eiew ofone `end portion of the bag holding Referringto the figures bycharacters of f reference 1 designates a casing of any'desiredproportions the same being closed at the top by a hinged cover2 providedwith a suitable lock 13. The body portion of the casing, including thecover 2, is preferably formed separately from the back plate 3 whichplate is designed to be'secured to a wall or other supporting structureand is attached to one side of the casing 1 by means of hinges 4. Asuitable lockY 5 may be employed for securingthe other' side of theplate 3 to the casing so that it is thus impossible to obtain access tothe .interior of the casing unless the lock 5 is unfastened and thecasing 1 swung forwardly andlatfg erally f away from the plate 8. Apanel 6 constitutes a portion of the front of the casing 1 andis'disposed adjacent the bottom of the casing, this panel being arrangedacross an opening 7 extending throughout the'width of the casingfandbeing heldin place by means of lugs 8 which aren formed integral withthe panel and extend downf. wardly into the casing back ofthe lower wallof the opening? A suitable lock,in .if

dicated generally at 9, maybe employed for securing the upper edge ofthe panel 6 to the casing 1. By removing this panel 6 access may be hadto the interior ofy the lower portion of the casing. Y

Cleats 10 are arranged upon the inner i faces of the sides and front ofcasing 1 'and support a removable shelf 11 on which `rests a hopper 12constituting a bulk holder, this hopper being'provided at its bottomwith an outlet opening 13. The hoppervprefer ably rests loosely in thecasing'and upon the shelf so that it can be removed readily.

Shelf^11 has a substantially semi-circular *opening 1,4 into which theYcontents of Ythe I;

iio

hopper 12 are adapted to discharge. Extending downwardly from thestraight side of this opening are4 spring fingers 15. l

The upper cylindrical section 16 of a measuring receptacle is secured tothe bottom of the shelf 11 and extends around the opening 14 in theshelf, said opening being adapted to discharge material into the backportion of the section 16 or, in other words, into that portion of thesection remote from the front of casing 1. Section 16 extends into thelower cylindrical section 17 .of the measuring receptacle, this lowersection being mounted on a shelf 18 supported by brackets 19 which areadjustably connected, in any suitable manner, to the casing 1. In thestructure shown, each bracket has a vertical series of apertures 20 anyone of which is adapted to receive a holding screw or stud 21 extendingfrom the wall of the casing. Thus it will be seen that the brackets canbe adjusted vertically so as to support the shelf 18 at any desiredelevation and, when the shelf 18 is lowered, the lower section 17 of themeasuring receptacle will of course move downwardly relative to theVupper section 16, thus elongating the measuring receptacle and,therefore, increasing its capacity. y

Shelf 18 has a segmental opening 22 surrounded by the section 17 andadapted to receive material from the front portion of said section or,in other words, from that portion of the section nearest the front ofthe casing 1, as shown in Fig. 4. This outlet opening 22 is disposeddirectly above a chute 23 secured to the inner surface of the front ofthe casing and leading to an outlet opening 24 in the front of thecasing. A cut-off slide 25 serves normally to close the opening' 24 andcan be raised thus to allow material to discharge through the opening24. The slide 25 is preferably provided with a finger piece 26 extendingforwardly through a yslot 27 in the front of the casing. Opening 24discharges into a spout 28 so shaped as to direct material from theopening 24 into a bag or other receptacle placed around the lower end ofthe spout.

A bracket 29 extends backwardly from the front of casing 1 andconstitutes a support and bearing for a vertical shaft 30 which isjournaled in the shelf 11 back of the center of the opening 14. Theupper portion of this shaft projects into the hopper 12 and carries anagitating worm 31 so pitched as to direct downwardly toward the opening14, the contents of the hopper 12 when the shaft 30 is rotating in theproper direction. This shaft 30 also extends longitudinally through thecenter of the measuring receptacle 16-17 and extending from that portionof the shaft within the measuring receptacle are blades 32 disposed atright angles to each other. Shaft 30 is preferably square and the blades32 bear against the respective faces of the shaft so as thus to fitsnugly around the shaft and rotate therewith. Blades 32 areapproximately of the same length as t-he section 16 and slidably mountedon each blade 32 is an extension blade 33, these extension blades beingconnected at their lower ends by a disk 34 having a square openingtherein, as shown at 35, so as to receive and slide upon the shaft 30.Slots 36 are formed longitudinally in the extension blades and areadapted to receive guide screws or the likeextending from the blades 32,as shown at 37 in Figs. 2 and 4. Blades 33 are loosely mounted upon theblades 32 and the disk 34 constantly bears upon the shelf 18. Thus itwill be seen that when shelf 18 is lowered and section 17 movesdownwardly relative to section 16, the extension blades 33 will alsomove downwardly relative to blades 32. Therefore under all conditionsthe shaft 30 has blades extending therefrom throughout the length of themeasuring receptacle 16-17. The upper edges of the blades 32 are adaptedto move close to the lower ends of the spring lingers 15.

Secured to the lower end of the shaft 30 is a gear 38 constantly meshingwith a smaller gear 39 secured to a' transverse shaft- 40, this shaftbeing journaledl in the sides of casing 1 and also in the bracket 29.This shaft has a sprocket 41 receiving motion, through a chain 42, froma larger sprocket 43 loosely mounted on a winding shaft 44 which is`iournaled in the sides of casing 1. A spring 45 is secured at one endto the sprocket 43 and at its other end to the shaft 44 and it will beap-parent that by rotating shaft 44 in one direction this spring 45 willbe wound provided sprocket 43 is held against rotation. A ratchet wheel46 .is secured to shaft 44 and is normally engaged by a springcontrolled pawl 47. Thus the shaft 44 is prevented from rotatingbackwardly after the spring 45 has been wound. It is -to be understoodthat instead of utilizing ai spring for t-he purpose of driving thesprocket 43, any other form of motor may be used.

Gear 39 is preferably so proportioned relative to gear 38 as to cause aone-quarter turn of gear 38 during each revolution of gear 39.- In otherwords, four complete revolutions of the gear 39 are necessary in orderto bring all of the blades 33 successively into position at one side ofthe discharge opening 22. l y

For preventing the shaft 40 from rotating under the action of the motor45, a. disk 48 is secured to said shaft 40 and has a notch 49 in itsperiphery. This notch normally receives a locking ear 50 extendinglaterally and forwardly from the lower movable member 51 of the coin'chute 52. This coin y back of the shaft 40. Thus it will be seen thatwhen a coin is deposited in the opening or slot 53, it will gravitatewit-hin the chute 52 and its extension 51 until it is brought to a stopbetween shaft 40 and the back of the chute extension 51, as shown in Fig6. A. spring 54 is connected to the lower portion of the chute extension51 and serves to hold said extension normally in a predeterminedposition relative to the upper portion of the chute. A coin depressinglever 55 is fulcrumed upon the front portion of the casing 1 and is heldnormally drawn toward the front of the casing by a spring 56. A plunger57 is connected to this lever and by pressingthe plunger inwardly, therear arm 58 of the lever willy bear downwardly on the coin supported inthe lower portion of the chute extension 51 so as thus to press the coinbetween shaft 40 and the back of the chute extension 51, thus moving theextension 51 to thereby withdraw ear 50 from out of the notch 49 andrelease disk 48 and sha-ft 40.' As soon as the `coin passes the shaft 40the spring 54 will bring the section 51 back to its normal position sot-hat, upon the completion of one revolution of disk 48, ear 50 willdrop back into notch 49 and thus hold sha-ft 40 against fur` therrotation. The coin, when discharged past shaft 40, will drop into a coinbox 59 supported under the chute extension 51.

For the purpose of regulating the speed of rotation of shaft 40 and theparts driven thereby, a governor is provided. This governor is mountedon a shelf 60 and a shaft 61 is journaled in the shelf and has a worm 62which receives motion from a worm wheel 68 rotating with shaft 40. Adisk 64 is slidably mounted on shaft 61 and is connected to spring arms65 carrying the balls 66 of the governor. A shoe 67 is fixedly supportedin the path of disk 64 so that, when the shaft rotates at apredetermined speed, the balls 66 will bow the springs 65 and cause disk64 to bear upwardly against shoe 67.

In order that the customer may be supplied with a bag in which to placethe nuts or other articles dispensed, a slot 68 is formed in the frontof the casing 1 and flush with the bottom of a box 69 supported in anysuitable manner within the casing, the said slot extending throughoutthe vwidth of the bottom of the box. A. longitudinal slot 70 is formedin the bottom of the box and is adapted to receive a block 71 formedupon the bottom of a slide 72, this slide being provided at its frontend, witha broad '58 of lever 55 to a linger 74 extending from one endof a le-.

ver 75 which is fulcrumed in the casing and f has a longitudinal slot76. Said slot receives a finger 77 extending downwardly from a lever 78,the upper end of this lever being engaged by a spring 79 which serves tohold the levernormally pressed against a cam 80 which is secured to androtates with shaft 40. Thus it will be seen that once during eachrotation of shaft 40, lever 78 will be actuated so as to swing lever 75which, in turn, will push block 71 and slide 72 forwardly toward thedelivery slot 68 after which spring 79 will return the parts to theirinitial positions. The bags to be dispensed are adapted to be placed ina pile within the box 69 with the folds of the collapsed bottoms thereoflowermost. Thus it will be seen that when slide 72 is pushed forwardly,the tongue `78 will enter the fold of the collapsed bottom of thelowermost bag and cause the bag to be pushed outwardly through the slot68 where it can be easily grasped and withdrawn by the customer. A.weight 81 of any desired form can be mounted on the pile of bags, saidpile of bags being indicated at 82 in Fig. 2 and in order that theweight and the bags may be prevented from shifting rearwardly during thereturn movement of the slide 72, a holding bail 83 is pivotallyconnected to the sides of the box 69 and extends downwardly back of theweight and the pile 82, as shown in Fig. 2. This bail, however, can beeasily swung upwardly out of position whenever it is desired to place anew pile of bags in position. i

As hereinbefore stated, the hopper 12 is to be partly or Ventirelyfilled with the nuts 'or other material to be dispensed and a pile ofbags 82 is to be placed in the box 69. lf' a spring motor is used, thesame is wound in any suitable manner after which the machine is readyfor use. Then a coin of the proper denomination is inserted in slot 58it will, as hereinbefore described, gravitate to a position between theback of the chute extension 51 and the'shaft40. This coin has beenindicated at 84 in Fig. 6. The customer then presses inwardly on theplunger 57 and causes the rearwardly extending arm push downwardly onthe coin thus wedging` thecoil between the extension 51 and shaft 40 andcausing ear 50 to withdraw from notch 49. Coin 84 promptly falls intothe box 59. As soon as the ear 50 has withdrawn from notch 49, the motoractuated mechanism becomes unlocked and motion. is thereforevtransmitted to shaft 40 from spring 45 through the sprocket 43, chain40 and sprocket 41. One` complete rotation of shaft 40 takes placebefore the. ear 50 again becomes seated within notch 49. During thisrotation of shaft 40 the gear 38 is given a one quarter rotation. Thespeed of rotation is controlled by the governor. During` the quarterrotation of gear 38 and shaft 40, the blades 32 and 33 within themeasuring receptacle lG---l7 will be given a one quarter turn thusbringing to position above. the openin` 22, the material containedbetween two at joining blades 32. Obviously the .material thus broughtto position above the opening Q2 will be discharged into the chute 23and against lthe closure 25. During this operation cam 8O is revolved soas to actuate the bag ejecting means in the manner described, thusbringinga bag to position within the slot 68 where it can be easilyreached and pulled outwardly and then placed around the discharge, endof the spout 28. By then lifting` the slide Q5, the material containedwithin chute 23 will be caused to gravitate into the bag. Obviously byelongating or shortening the receptacle 1(317 the amount of matcrial tobe discharged at each operation can be regulated.

By providing the fingers l5, should any nuts or the like fall upon theupper edges of the blades 32, they will be thrown therefrom so as not tochoke the apparatus.

What is claimed is Y l. The combination with a bulk holder, of ameasuring receptacle consisting of telescopically connected upper andlower sections, said receptacle having an outlet, and a series ofrevoluble blades within the receptacle for directing material from theinlet to the outlet, said blades being extensible with the receptacle.

Q. The combination with a bull; holder, of a measuring receptacleconsisting of telescopically Connected sections, said receptacle havingan outlet, and a revoluble series of extensible blades within thereceptacle for directing material from points below the inlet to pointsabove the outlet.

3. The combination with a bulk holder, of a measuring receptacleconsisting of telescopieally connected sections, said receptacles havingan outlet, a revoluble series of extensible blades within the receptaclefor directing material from points below the inlet to points above theoutlet, and means eX- tending from the inlet of the receptacle forpreventinfr lodgment of material upon the upper enc s of the blades.

4t. The combination with a bulk holder anda receptacle section dependingtherefrom, there being an opening between the bulk holder and saidsection and constituting an inlet to the said section, of a verticallyadjustable shelf, a lower receptacle section movable with the shelf andhaving an outlet out of vertical alinenient with the inlet, the twosections being telescopi-cally connected, andineans revoluble within thesections and adjustable longitudinally to a length equal to the lengthof the measuring receptacle, for directing material in the receptaclefrom points below the inlet to points above the outlet.

5. The combination with a bulk holder, of a measuring receptacleconsisting of telescopically connected sections, said receptacle havingan outlet, a. revoluble series of extensible blades within thereceptacle for directing material from points below the inlet to pointsabove the outlet, means extending from the inlet of the receptacle forpreventing lodgment of material upon the upper ends of the blades, astationary chute for receiving material from the outlet, and a cut-olffor the chute.

G. The combination with a bulk holder, of a measuring receptacleconsisting` of telescopically connected sections, said receptacle havingan outlet, a revoluble series of eX- tensible blades within thereceptacle for directing material from points below the inlet to pointsabove the outlet, means extending from the inlet of the receptacle forpreventing lodgment of material upon the upper ends of the blades, astationary chute for receiving material from the outlet, a cut-olf forthe chute, and a spout extending from the chute for projecting Vinto areceptacle.

7. The combination with a receptacle of variable capacity, of a shaft,means upon the shaftl for rotation within the yreceptacle and dividingthe contents thereof into separate bodies, said receptacle having aninlet and an outlet out of vertical. alin'ement, a motor, and meansoperated by the motor for imparting a partial rotation to the shaft tobring onev of the bodies of material from below the inlet to a pointabove the outlet.

8. The combination with a receptacle of variable capacity, of a shaft,means upon the shaft for'rotation within the receptacle and dividing thecontents thereof into separate bodies, said receptacle having an inletand an outlet out of vertical alineinent, a motor, means operated by themotor for imparting a partial rotation to the shaft to bring one of thebodies of material from below the inlet to a point above the outlet, abulk holder for directing material toward the inlet, and means revolublewith the shaft and within the bulk holder for feeding such material tothe inlet.

lin testimony that l claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

Bonner T. PoLK.

Witnesses SELINA WILLsoN, Hniuznnr D. LAwsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

